Let’s stand in thankfulness for the work done by our Christian forbears and early Church Fathers. They’ve handed down priceless heirlooms born out of the careful study and thoughtful discussion in the early hours of our faith’s birth. Rejection of the creeds is to purposefully separate oneself from foundational Christian orthodoxy carried forward from the days before the legalization of Christianity.
Read MoreIn an earlier article, I laid out the basics of the Moral Argument for the existence of God. The most common objection brought by skeptics to the Moral Argument is called the Euthyphro Dilemma. Let’s begin by winding the clock back to the event that is credited with its origin.
Read MoreThe complementarian straw man is rather simply expressed. It is based, almost universally, on the premise that women and their roles are inferior to men and theirs.
Read MoreI must admit, I chose the title of this post partially in jest, and partially for the shock factor.
This article is both in response and in partnership with Luke Copeland’s recent article: “Long Live the Patriarchy!”
Read MoreThere are two accounts of Saul’s (Paul’s) conversion in the book of Acts that have come under attack…
Read MoreI'm fascinated by things about which I have changed my mind. I bet you've heard politicians and others brag about how they have never changed their minds. Changing your mind about something now is much harder than it was 50 years ago simply because all of us are bombarded with so much information that we have little time for disciplined thinking about things that matter.
Read MoreThe God of oceans and dinosaurs and supernovas is also the God of raindrops, bacteria, and electrons. None is greater than He. But neither is any so enraptured with the smallest details of what we might consider the drudgery of daily existence.
Read MoreFirst, allow me to lay my cards on the table: I am a complementarian.
Read More“Eugene Peterson believed translation is a kind of ‘lectio divina–more than only getting the words right, there is spirit, the vibrancy of the text, the livingness of the message.’ The Bible was not a dead book. It was vibrantly alive” (218). What Peterson was trying to do was paraphrase the biblical text into idioms common to the folks who worshipped at the congregation he served in the Baltimore suburbs and even more to working-class folks like his father, a butcher, and the people he grew up around in Kalispell, Montana.
Read MoreIn “The name” Jefferson Vann explains his reasoning behind how he treats the tetragrammaton – the four letter name of God (יהוה) in the Hebrew Bible.
Read MoreThe Gospel is really very counter intuitive. We are wired as Pharisees. We have a hard time understanding the nature of grace. Even though we confess that we believe God saves us by grace, we tend to operate in the arena of works. We are basically performance driven. We live on a treadmill of performance in how we conceive of God dealing with us. We are treated by others this way and we treat others this way. But God does not treat his born again and justified children in this way. It is God’s grace relied upon and even to some degree felt that motivates his children to live in in loving obedience to him rather than in a quid pro quo performance oriented existence.
Read MoreIn defending the doctrine of the Trinity, and more specifically the deity of Jesus, there is a rule of the Koine Greek language that is important to know. The Granville Sharp rule is used as a fortification of two verses of scripture in particular as they relate to the deity of Christ…
Read MoreWe don’t hear much about heroes today. Perhaps folks are too jaded and cynical to think that there are public figures worthy of our admiration for their character, their accomplishments, and for their contributions to humanity. Heroes are those who step up to challenges. They don’t back down in the face of struggle or difficulty. They inspire others. They do the right thing even when it costs something. They are folks who are not so much “me” centered as they are “we” centered. They are people who give us something to aspire to; folks whom you want your kids to admire and emulate.
Read MoreDrafted by Erik Reynolds, Thomas Loghry, Nathaniel Bickford, and Andy Rice, the following resolution has been submitted to the Resolutions Committee of the 2020 Triennial Convention (meeting April 21-23, 2021). It is intended to replace resolutions 74-38 and 96-67 and thereby present a stronger and more comprehensive statement by Advent Christians on the dignity of human life.
Read MoreLast week, new survey data indicated that only 47% of Americans are connected to a church, synagogue, or mosque; a dramatic drop over the past 20 years. Lots of pundits are worried about that. I'm not and you can read why here.
Read MoreJefferson Vann suggests a better translation for the phrase “cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 12:1. He examines the word in the Greek text, along with several other related Greek words. He offers preferred glosses for all those words.
Read MoreDid Jesus really rise from the dead?
Read MoreMost of us are familiar with the Easter narrative. In fact, many of us feel so familiar with the details that we don’t suppose there’s anything we have left unconsidered. Jesus died on the cross and rose again - that’s all there is to it. Three days no doubt felt like eternity to the disciples, but it is little trouble for us to rush between the cross and the empty tomb. We always do like to get to the good part.
But would you allow me to trouble you?
Read MoreLaying in bed late one night, I began thinking of my life story. As I considered the plot of my narrative, I found there could be two tellings. And which way it went struck me as immensely important, not because I am immensely important, but because the story I tell myself about myself guides me into the future. This is true not only of me but also of you.
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